Róisín Garvey (Green Party)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. My Commencement matter concerns the need for the Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, to outline the steps her Department is taking to increase tourism at the Cliffs of Moher and in areas of west Clare to support a greater spread of the socioeconomic benefits of tourism. I raise this matter because I have huge fears around the plans for the Cliffs of Moher site. The site is stunning, the staff are amazing and the council has done good work in creating spaces for a lot of local producers of crafts and clothes to sell their products at the venue. Some good local food producers are supported as well. That is the first point, and it is positive.

Fáilte Ireland and the local authority have just spent €500,000 of the profits from the site on a new strategy for the Cliffs of Moher. I have huge concerns about the strategy. I do not know why the focus has to be on getting more and more people to the Cliffs of Moher when it should really be on getting more people to spend their money in other places around the Cliffs of Moher. The whole strategy aims to increase the number of people visiting the Cliffs of Moher where huge profits are already being made. I am not sure whether the aim of the council or Fáilte Ireland is to make more money. That seems to be what this strategy is all about. There is some tokenism around local benefit and socioeconomic benefit to other areas. There are considerations and such. Overall, however, the bottom line seems to be about getting more people to the Cliffs of Moher.

Clare County Council is not a business; its job is to run the county. While there are some great people working in the organisation, there has been an overemphasis on getting more and more people to spend more time and money at the Cliffs of Moher. Its plan is to increase the time visitors spend at the site, from less than two hours to up to three and half hours. Fáilte Ireland would say the more time people spend in a place, the more money they tend to spend. Fáilte Ireland will also agree with me that the slower a tourist moves, the more money he or she spends.

There is still a huge emphasis in this new strategy on getting people to travel to the site by car and bus. There is talk of providing two shuttle buses from two places, Lisdoonvarna and Ennistymon. While that is a good idea, there is no mention of the buses being electric or the service being looped, which is a much better form of doing this. We have seen this done well in a lot of other places. Bus routes should be looped in order that they serve locals as well as tourists. Tourists would be able to meet the locals and hop off in places like Kilfenora, Miltown Malbay and Lahinch along the way and spend money in those places as well.

The whole focus is still on getting everyone to go to the cliffs. The shuttle service leaving from Lisdoonvarna and Ennistymon, while a good idea, will still just be feeding people in. It has been said that every shuttle bus will remove 12 cars. While that is good, it is still not sustainable tourism. The word "sustainable" is continually used. Using that word does not mean it is a sustainable plan. A sustainable plan is putting money and tourists into our beautiful towns and villages all around the Cliffs of Moher. The traffic up there is crazy as it is. This plan has not taken seriously the need to invest in our towns and villages, and not just in the Cliffs of Moher. I read the whole report. It states: "Consideration should be given to providing a connection between the proposed Eurovelo 1 cycleway and the Cliffs of Moher." "Consideration" is the weakest word the council could possibly use. It is not going to make it happen.

The report goes on to state: "There are opportunities to develop and promote cycling off the main roads and in particular east of the R478." There has been a cycling route there for years. There are loads of mini signs for routes 1 and 2 all over north Clare but no one knows what they mean. The council has not managed to get a map online or an app for anyone to use. There are loads of ways doing that. The council has neglected the coastal route for years and is finally doing something about it but I have huge concerns about its priorities.

Today, we read again that we have failed to reach our climate targets and that transport is the number one issue. Despite this, we have Fáilte Ireland and Clare County Council promoting another driving route through the Burren. Locals are not happy with that either. We need to up our game. Fáilte Ireland needs to take seriously the work the Minister, Deputy Martin, is doing to create a proper sustainable tourism strategy and on which she has been working hard. Fáilte Ireland needs to get people on its board who are experts in sustainable transport, protecting biodiversity and understanding proper socioeconomic benefit to local towns and villages.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank Senator Garvey for raising this Commencement matter. The Government is very conscious of the importance of the tourism sector, not only in Clare but throughout the country. For this reason, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Government have been proud to support the sector in recent years. Ensuring we have the right tourism product is essential if we are to achieve the ambitious targets for further sustainable tourism growth. The Government is committed to ensure that all areas benefit.

As regards the spread of tourism, as Senator Garvey will be aware, County Clare is included in both Fáilte Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Hidden Heartland’s regional tourism development strategies covering the period up to 2027. These roadmaps for the industry are designed to steer a course towards ongoing tourism recovery since the severe challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The plans set out a strategic approach to unlocking the potential of both the Wild Atlantic Way and Hidden Heartlands and will ensure focus on tourism development is sustainable and regenerative.

The regional tourism development strategies will be activated across every region through a series of local area action plans, referred to as destination and experience development plans. These local development plans are highly collaborative in nature, involving all local stakeholders. Fáilte Ireland’s commitment is for every part of the country to have a detailed tourism development action plan created in partnership with local stakeholders.

I understand that County Clare is being developed under three destination and experience development plans, namely, the Burren visitor experience development plan; the cliff coast destination experience development plan; and the Lough Derg experience development plan. I am informed that the Burren visitor experience development plan is complete and is at implementation stage, with a strong committee comprised of trade and relevant agencies. The cliff coast destination experience development plan is expected to be launched later this year, while the Lough Derg experience development plan continues to progress.

Fáilte Ireland has invested €230,000 in the Cliffs of Moher master plan, which is being delivered by Clare County Council. The Cliffs of Moher visitor experience, which is owned and operated by Clare County Council, has played a central role in building a positive image of Ireland at home and abroad for many decades and is a signature discovery point on the Wild Atlantic Way. The aim of the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 is to ensure that this iconic international tourism landmark delivers for the whole region through the development of enhanced relationships and links with the Burren, the Wild Atlantic Way and the wider hinterland. The strategy sets out a long-term vision for the Cliffs of Moher experience, focusing on sustainable development of a world-class visitor attraction over the next 20 years. A multidisciplinary team of international consultants has developed the strategy, with guidance provided by a steering group of representatives from the Cliffs of Moher experience, Clare County Council, Fáilte Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, private tourism enterprises and the wider community.I understand a preliminary draft of the strategy has been published and a public consultation process on the draft closed in recent months. I look forward to seeing the finalised version of the strategy which should ensure this iconic attraction remains a key driver of continued and sustainable tourism activity in the years ahead.

Finally, in relation to Government policy generally, my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, is finalising a new national tourism policy framework that will mainstream environmental, economic and societal sustainability across the entire tourism sector. It will seek to establish Ireland as a leading tourism destination excelling in sustainable development practices that deliver better economic, social and environmental outcomes for all. The new framework will also have policy objectives in relation to careers in tourism, innovation, product development, regionality, seasonality and the impact of broader Government decisions on the sector. The new policy will ensure that tourism can grow in a sustainable manner and will have a particular focus on growing tourism in less developed tourist areas. I understand it is hoped to publish the new policy shortly.

Róisín Garvey (Green Party)
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The bottom line is I feel Fáilte Ireland contradicts itself. One the one hand, it says it wants more sustainable tourism but on the other it is putting all its eggs in one basket - the Cliffs of Moher only - and it has just increased the number of cars driving through the Burren. It came up with this great plan that if all the cars on the Wild Atlantic Way, let us get some of them driving through the Burren but the local people and businesses just see more cars, which does more damage to the precious and sacred local fauna. It means it is not safe for people to hike, walk or cycle. It is not working. It can keep saying "sustainable" all it wants but local towns, villages and businesses do not benefit and it does not do enough to promote walking and cycling, which are the best and only way to experience the Burren. You meet someone in a car and they ask, "Where is the Burren?" They are in the Burren in their cars. If they walk and cycle in the Burren, they have to eat and stay local. We are missing a trick. Fáilte Ireland keep saying the word "sustainable" but is failing local people and businesses. Vans are driving down from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher three times a week with food baked in Dublin, as if we cannot provide the food locally. The word "sustainable" has to be put into practice and not just thrown out willy-nilly. I have deep concerns about the new strategy for the cliffs. It will make more money for the council and Fáilte Ireland can say it is great but it is not sustainable long term. I am sure Fáilte Ireland has been involved in this tourism strategy which the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has been working hard on. We have climate targets that will cost us €8 billion if we do not reach them. Transport is the biggest challenge and it is not being taken seriously.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank Senator Garvey again for raising the matter in the House today. I trust that my earlier response sets out how it is planned to ensure that all regions of County Clare can continue to benefit from tourism in the years ahead. The new tourism policy framework being finalised by the Minister will be critical in ensuring we have a thriving tourism sector in the period up to 2030. While we want tourism to grow, we want it to do so in a sustainable manner that benefits all areas and communities. From the Government's perspective, we will continue to back the tourism sector. The Minister secured funding of €216 million in 2024 to continue support for tourism development at home and among overseas visitors while supporting continued recovery in the sector. The recent budget included an increase of 4% against 2024 figures, which will allow a further significant investment in tourism marketing, product development and investment in sustainability measures.

Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his time this morning.